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. 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1. WH-ITTEN. Car Coupling.

Patented May 5, 1868.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.: N. WHITTEN. v

Car Coupling. No. 77,55 Patented. May 5,1868.

Zfl'Zssea I 7 NA'IH'AN WRITTEN, OF ET'NA, MAINE.

.- Letters Patent No. 77,558, dated May 5, 1868.

"IMPROVED OAR-GOUPLING.

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TO ALIJ WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, NATHAN WRITTEN, of Etna, in the county of Penobscot, and $tate of Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, reference being had'to theaccompanyin-g drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, of which said drawings- Figure'l is a perspective view of my invention,

Figure? is a perspective sectional view of the lower half of the draw-head and draught-banand Figure 3 is a sectional view of the upper half of the draw-headand draught-bar I Allshowing the application of my improvement; and in which said drawings- A is a draw-head; B is a draught-barrC is a plunger-head; D is a plunger-rod E is a sweep; F is a lever; F is a bar; G ,is a pivot-plate; His a coil-spring; I is a shackling-pin; and K is a shackling-link. a is a fiangilng -mouth of the draw-head; b is a chamber in the draught-bar; c is a perforated passage through the draught-bar; dis a recess in the draw head; e and e are circular apertures or pin-holes; f is an upright collar; g, 9?, g, and g are belts ,or rivets; It is a fulcrum-bolt; z'and z" are spilrs;'lc is a fiange;'l is a pivot-pin; and m is a bolt or pin.

I construct the draw-head A and draught-bar B in one piece, and commonly of the ordinary site and material, and secure the same to the car-platform, or beneath the car, in the usual nianner.

I provide the draw-head and draughtbar with a Hanging-mouth, a, terminating in the chamber 6, in which plays the plunger-head C; and with the perforated passage 0, in which plays the plunger-rod D; and with the 5 recess cl, in which plays the pivot-plate G; and with circular apertures, in which plays the pivot-pin 1; and with the circular apertures e and c, and upright collarf, in which plays the shackli'ng-pin I.

I construct the plunger-head C of cast iron, or other suitable material, and of'such size and shape that it will play freely in the chamber '17; and I secure theplunger-head to the plunger-rod D, by amale and female screw, or in any permanent manner. I I

I construct, the plunger-rod D of steel, or other suitable material, and pass the plunger, rod foremost, through the mouth a, chamber 6, and perforated passa ge 0, until the end of the rod projects through the rear of the draught bar I3, and I then connect the plunger with the sweep E, by a pivotal rivet, or bolt and nut g, or by a screw-link. I i i p I construct the sweep E of wrought iron, or other suitable material, and connect the same with the lever F, by the pivotal rivet, or bolt and nut g.

I construct the lever F of wrought iron, or other suitable material, and connect the same with the bar F, by the pivotal rivet, or bolt and nut g".

I construct the bar F of wrought iron, or other suitable material, and secure the same to the draught-bar B, by means of the spurs 2' ands", and the pivotal rivet, or bolt and nut g. Y I

I construct the pivot-plate G of steel, or other suitable material, and provide the same with a flange, is, said pivot-plate being of such size and shape as to form, when sprung forward, a diaphragm across the entrance of the chamber 6, and a stop or bottom to-the aperture or pin-hole e, as shown by dotted lines in fig. 3, and I secure the pivot-plate in the recess cZ, by means of the pivot-pin Z, part of the shaft of which is squared for the purpose. i

I provide the coil-spring H, and attach one end of the same to the head of the pivot-pin l, and the other end to the draught-bar B, by means of a bolt or pin, m; all as shown in the accompanying drawings.

I also provide the ordinar shackling;pih I and shackling-link K; said shackline-link K being usually one-fourth the length of the combined draw-head and draught-bar.

For'the purpose of explaining theopcration of my improvement, will suppose two cars approaching each other to be coupled together, and for convenience Iwill designate the cars as X and Y. The shackling-link and other parts of the apparatus on the car Xbeing then in the relative position shown in figs, 1 and 2, and the shackling-pin I, of the car Y, being withdrawn far enough to allow the pivot pl-ate G to be sprung forward by the coil-spring H, and to close the entrance of the chamber b, and to stop the pin-hole c with the flange 7c, and the shackling-pin I standing in the upright collarf, and sustained in that position by the flange Ir. Then, when the draw-heads meet, and are pressed together by the momentum of the moving car, which may he either car, the draught-bar B, of the car X, is pushed back, and as it recedes, the bar F throws back the short arm of the lever F, which lever F oscillates on the fulcrum h. The long arm of the lever F is thrown forward twice as far as the short arm is thrown back. The oscillating motion of the lcverF is converted into rectilinear motion, by means of the sweep E. The plunger 0 Dis thrown forward, strikes the shaekling-link K, and projects the same into the mouth a, of the draw-head A, of the car Y. The shackling-link K then presses hack the pivot-plate, in the entrance of the chamber [2, in the draught-bar of the carY, so that the flange k, in the recess 0?, in the drawhead of the ear Y, no longer sustains the shackling-pin,-which pin then drops through the aperture 0, the shackling-link K, and the aperture J, in the draw-head of the cur Y, and the cars are coupled together.

One peculiar advantage of this invention for coupling cars is, that the link 'K is held ina horizontal position, and entirely within the draw-head and draughthar of the car X, aslshown in figs. 1 and 2, until the drawheads meet, and then when the shackling-link is projected by the plunger 0 D, in the draught-bar of car X,

the flanging mouth of the draw-head, on the car Y, is certain to receive the link, if the draw-heads are near' enough to the same plane to be coupled at all; and as soon as the cars are coupled, and the car X is drawn ahead, the link has as much vertical and lateral play as, if not more than, in ordinary draw-heads.

Crooked links may be uscd to the same advantage with my improvement as with the ordinary draw-heads, and where it is not important that the cars should be close. together, for instance, freight-cars, the compound levers F F and sweep E may he dispensed with, and the plunger may be thrown forward, when the drought bar recedes, by means of an immovable stop, cushion, or other contrivance of like nature, in the rear of the plunger.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- The combined lever F, bar F, and sweep E, secured to the draughtbar B, to the car-floor, and to the plunger-rod D, for the purpose of giving a. forward rectilinear and increased motion to the plunger 0 D, when the draught-bar is forced backward, all for the purposes and in the manner as shown and described.

NATHAN WHITTEN.

Witnesses:

L. H. Wnrrrnn, SAMUEL Hasrr. 

